In my own words
— JonMikelwww.JonMikelRodriguez.com Experienced Product & Apparel Designer with a demonstrated history of success in many soft-goods categories including: Outerwear, Technical Apparel, Surfing Setsuits, Wake PFDs, USCG & CE rated Accessories, & Footwear.
Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design - California State University, Long Beach
Trajectory
Nov 2024 — Now
Apparel Designer · Finisterre
Design, Development, and Consultation for highly sustainable and eco-conscious Wetsuit category.
Oct 2021 — Nov 2024
Apparel Designer · Teton Outfitters - KLIM/509 Brands
Designed Apparel for Snow and Moto categories mainly featuring GoreTex shell outerwear garments for high performance and durability focused motorsports categories. Additionally, I designed base layers, heated garments, and a innovative engineered jersey & glove set to pair with a durable stretch motorcycle riding pant.
Jul 2019 — Oct 2021
Designer · Independent
Outdoor Market
- Concept creation, branding, and prototyping for start-up
- Outdoor and camping products currently in the patent process
Soft-Goods Design
- Bags, packs, harnesses, tactical, safety, and firefighter products
- Sketching, roughing mock-ups, sewing prototypes, controlled testing
- Sourcing USA made specialty materials including, Kevlar, fire-resistant, and safety-rated
- Durable construction, wear-resistant fabrics, and load bearing haul points
Graphic Design
- Local business graphics and layouts
- Branding and logo development
Feb 2009 — Jul 2019
Product Designer · O'Neill
EXPERIENCE
Designed global range of premium technical sporting goods and apparel to the highest performance standards
Forecasted trends and innovations with data from: end-users, athletes, sales, marketing, production, and repair teams
Initiated new ideas and concepts through market research, product testing, and sourcing new technology
Organized project goals, target pricing, and prototyping to provide optimum solutions to well defined problems
Negotiated the best available materials, construction, and manufacturing techniques to create highly functional products
Refined products via prototyping and testing sessions to deliver durable, desirable, and highly marketable designs
Detailed technical specifications of the build process, BOM, patterns, or any updates during the development cycle
Developed branding and trim items: graphics, heat transfers, zippers, pulls, binding, etc., then validated its purpose
MATERIAL BACKGROUND
High-performance technical fabrics
Environmentally friendly and sustainable products
Seam bonding
Thermal insulating materials
Durable materials and coatings
Multidirectional stretch fabric
US Navy, USCG, CE, UL, OSHA, Berry and government agency approved products
DESIGN PROCESS
Solve complex challenges through a scientific and analytical design process producing a refined solution
Conduct product focus-groups, fittings, pattern reviews, testing sessions, design meetings, and presentations
Create technical design packages that layout accurate procedures for prototypes, sampling, and production
Produce product graphics, develop seasonal color stories, engineer prints, render images, and present concepts
Color development of fabrics for Pantone-correct production to unify several materials in the same garment
Merchandise an organized product line to fulfil needs without over-saturating any specific category
Inventory management of new materials for prototyping and scheduling to maintain design and production deadlines
Mar 2013 — Jan 2015
Designer · Artikel Inc
https://www.jonmikelrodriguez.com/artikel
Artikel Clothing & Artikel Mag were a tandem project built around Artist with their vision expressed in print and on streetwear collections.
May 2003 — Jan 2008
Design + Branding · VATA Footwear & Accessories
https://www.jonmikelrodriguez.com/vata
Start-Up footwear and accessories company focused on premium products with sustainability as the main driver of materials and design concepts.
Jan 2004 — Jun 2004
Accessories design intern · VOLCOM
Activity
Education history
California State University, Long Beach
Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) | 2004 - 2008
California State University-Long Beach
Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) | 2004 - 2008

